Where can I get 4 pure breed chickens from?

[dan10]

I'm new to chickens, and I have done a lot of research, I need to find out how to get americana chick, orpington, sussex, and rhode island red chicks:/

 

[SteveBaz]

first off

There are a lot of hatcheries
My pet chicken
MT. HEALTHY hatchery
Meyer hatchery

I would choose order from maybe local and you can choose your flock. Urban Farm Stores have chicks. Craigs List always post chicks for sale. Type in google chicks for sale and your zip code. You will find chicks in all shapes and sizes. At the top of every page in the middle is "BREEDS" hit it and go look at all the birds in the index. Very fun Good luck

 

[smkchick]

I got my chicks (3) from chickensforbackyards.com. Don't know what's available at this time of year. Where are you located?

 

[raymondjames]

i can sell you some rhode island red fertile eggs but their not purebred but if it helps theyre only a cross with one other breed... Half Silver Leghorn batnam Half Rhode island Red

 

[Ridgerunner]

Glad you decided to join us!

Most states and several countries have their own thread on here. Look in the "Where am I? Where are you?" section and see if you can find yours. There may be people nearby that can help. They may have hatching eggs or even chicks, but a risk with these is that they may be roosters as well as hens. But where someone may be able to really help is to split an order with you. And some people will hatch eggs for you or sell you chicks, with the agreement they will take them back or swap them out if they turn out to be male.

I'm assuming you want only one of each and you want that one to be a female. There are some hatcheries that will ship just a few chicks, but not many. MyPetChicken advertises that they will ship as few as three, but that is only to a very few locations, where you have a major post office. For most of us that minimum is 5 or even 8, depending on where we live. And several, like Ideal, may add what are called shipping peanuts, additional chicks so they can help keep each other warm during shipping. These are usually roosters and may be of any breed. So be a bit careful about what their shipping policies are before you order.

Many feed stores sell chicks, especially in the spring. Talk to the feed stores around you and see what their policies are. Some will place special orders for you as part of their overall order, so you can get around the minimums. Some will not. Some may bring in specific sexes and breeds, but most will not. It may not work out for you, but you may get lucky.

Again, talk to the feed stores. They may know someone in the area that might be willing to split an order with you. Most hatcheries will mark chicks if you ask them to, usually with a bit of food coloring on the head. Or maybe you can put a note on the feed store bulletin board. You never know until you ask.

Go to a chicken show near you and talk to the people there. You might find someone who can help you.

The main problem with getting them anywhere other than a hatchery is that they will probably not be sexed. You could wind up with roosters instead of hens.

And I notice you want an Ameraucana. You will not find them at a hatchery. Ameraucana are a specific breed that meets rigorous standards. Hatcheries do not meet those standards, even though they may call them Ameraucanas. What you will get from a hatchery are what we call Easter Eggers, or EE's. If what you are after is a blue or green egg layer, they are fine. You should be very happy with what you get. But if you truly want an Ameraucana, you will not find one at a hatchery.

 

[dan10]

thanks, that was very informational and actualy I might be fine with Easter eggers

 

[dan10]

I'm not really up to hatching eggs I want to start with chicks if you hatch them first I might buy them from you.

 

[ZoeZoo]

Often you can locate excellent local hatcheries at feed stores. That's where I got my first four.

If you really want to order, the best I've heard of is "Ideal Hatcheries" .